Court Orders Retrial for Defendant in 2023 Tabaiba Murder Case
The Provincial Court of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has reopened the trial of Antonio J. for the 2023 murder of Rubén J. after the High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands overturned his previous acquittal due to insufficient reasoning.
The Provincial Court of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has reopened the trial for the February 2023 murder of Rubén J. in Tabaiba. This follows a decision by the High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) to overturn the previous acquittal of one of the defendants, Antonio J., after ruling that the original verdict was illogical and lacked sufficient evidence.
The case involves a violent death at a home in El Rosario. While another defendant, José J., was already sentenced to 24 years in prison for the murder—a conviction that remains unchanged—the jury must now decide specifically on Antonio J.’s level of involvement. A third man, Toño S., who allegedly organized the meeting, died by suicide shortly after the incident, and his case was subsequently closed.
Prosecutors argue that the crime required multiple people, citing the victim’s physical size and security footage. The footage shows the suspects entering the property in quick succession and leaving just five minutes after Rubén J. arrived—a window of time in which investigators believe the fatal attack with a metal tool and a subsequent cleanup occurred.
Evidence suggests the motive was a 103,000-euro debt linked to drug trafficking. The victim was reportedly lured to the apartment with the promise of a 70,000-euro partial payment. The investigation was aided by a stroke of luck: when the victim’s body hit a glass partition, the noise alerted neighbors, who called the Civil Guard. Without this, investigators say the case would have been much harder to solve.
The TSJC’s decision to retry the case underscores the necessity for jury verdicts to be based on sound reasoning. The court criticized the original acquittal for failing to properly assess the evidence. Meanwhile, Antonio J.’s defense maintains that he was not involved in the attack and was only present to mediate a financial dispute. Investigators have dismissed a note left by the late Toño S. that attempted to clear the other men of wrongdoing, labeling it unreliable.